Public Profession of Faith – Form 1
We thank our God concerning you for the grace of God that has been given to you in Christ Jesus. We praise Him for working faith in your heart, so that you now desire publicly to profess your faith in the presence of God and His holy church and enter into the privileges of full communion with the people of God.
Vows
You are now requested to answer sincerely the following questions:
Do you wholeheartedly believe the doctrine contained in the Old and the New Testament, and in the articles of the Christian faith, and taught in this Christian church, to be the true and complete doctrine of salvation, and do you promise by the grace of God to continue steadfastly in this profession?
Do you openly accept God’s covenant promise, which has been signified and sealed to you in your baptism, and do you confess that you despise and humble yourself before God because of your sins, and that you seek your life, not in yourself, but only in Jesus Christ your Savior?
Do you declare that you love the Lord, and that it is your heartfelt desire to serve Him according to His Word, to forsake the world, to put to death your old nature, and to lead a godly life?
Do you promise to submit to the government of the church, and also, if you should become wayward, either in doctrine or in life, to submit to its admonition and discipline?
_________, what is your answer?
Each individual then answers: I do.
Charge
I charge you, then, beloved, by the diligent use of the means of grace and with the assistance of your God, to continue in the profession that you have just made. In the name of Christ Jesus our Lord, I now welcome you to full communion with the people of God. Rest assured that all the privileges of such communion are now yours. “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 5:10–11
).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You that from the beginning You have embraced children in Your covenant, together with their parents. We thank You that from the first You have included these, Your servants, in the Christian church, and granted them all the many blessings of the covenant community. We praise You that in their case You added the special grace of Your Holy Spirit, so that of their own will they come here today to profess Your truth and to consecrate their lives to Your service. We earnestly pray that You will continue to carry on the good work that You have begun in them until the day of complete redemption. Increase in them daily the many gifts of Your grace, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. Grant them the happiness of promoting the glory of their Lord and the edification of His people. Deliver them in the temptations of this life and in the final trial of death. And in that day when You make up Your jewels, set also these, Your servants, in Your crown, that they may shine as stars to Your praise forever and ever. Amen.